Eyes In Love
by pandorabox82
Summary: Dave has no idea how to help his Erin when he finds out that her granddaughter is near death and in desperate need of a transplant. As she begins to let him in and give him control, will a startling revelation from their past bring them closer together or tear them apart? The second of Ilovetvalot's stories.


Dave found his girlfriend staring at her clasped hands, a far-off look on her face. "Erin?" he asked softly as he closed the door to her office.

"Harriet just called," she whispered.

"And?" he prodded, going over to her side. She hadn't let him in like this before and he found that he wanted to be there for her, to learn what made her tick beyond amazing sex.

"There's a problem with the baby. Her liver is failing, and the doctors don't know why." She finally looked up at him, her eyes filling with tears as she stared at him. "She's in ICU right now."

"Do you want to go see her?" She nodded. "I'll go with you." He went over to her side and helped her to stand. Erin collapsed against his chest, her tears breaking down into sobs. He rubbed her back softly as she curled her hands into his shirt. "Oh, Erin, everything is going to be okay, in time."

"Do you promise me that?" Her voice was soft and tender, something he had last heard the night of Jennifer's wedding and he felt compelled to promise her the moon if it would make her feel better.

"Yes, I promise you that." She nuzzled her face into his chest before pulling away from him to gaze into his eyes. "What is it?"

"Seal your promise with a kiss." He nodded and delicately kissed her lips before placing the echo of a kiss on her forehead. "I don't know if I can do this, David."

"Correction, you cannot do this alone. That's why you have me." He wrapped his arm around her waist and led her over to the door. Helen looked up from her computer, a confused look on her face. "Erin and I are headed out. Hold all her calls until Thursday. If it's something pressing, call me first. Oh, and let Hotch know that we're going to be out of the office tomorrow." She nodded, making a note on a post-it.

They went over to the elevators and Erin just seemed to deflate against him as they waited. "Would you mind terribly if I let you take control for a while, then?"

He felt her sigh as he nodded. "If that's what you need of me, Erin." The doors opened and they stepped inside. Dave reached out and pressed the button for the parking garage, never letting go of his woman. She would kill him if she knew he thought of her like that, but at the moment, it was true. She was his, and he was going to show her that that was what she needed in her life.

Erin sniffled lowly and pulled a tissue out of her purse, wiping her eyes and nose. "What if Helena dies?"

"You'll get through it. It will be rough on you, but you will get through it." He thought about his own sweet baby James, and felt tears prickle his eyes.

"You sound like you speak from experience," she murmured as she splayed her left hand out on his chest.

"I do." He took a deep breath. "There was a reason that Carolyn and I broke up. We shouldn't have, seeing as how we never stopped loving each other, right up until the very end last year. Neither of us could get past the grief of losing our baby. He was born about three months early, which in the late seventies was almost a death sentence. They didn't have the technology like they do now."

"Oh, David, you never told me this before."

"It was never the right time to do so. I blamed myself for a long time, you know." He had never told anyone that, ever, and he wondered why he was doing so now, of all times.

"Why?"

"We had gotten into an argument about how much time I was spending on the road at the BAU. She was worried about the pregnancy from the word go, seeing as how her own mother had had a rough time carrying to term. We had a huge fight right before I headed out to Tulsa on some case, and then I got the call from her doctor. I didn't have a profile yet, so I had to stay." Dave felt her tears wet his shirt, and he rubbed her back, struggling not to cry himself. "I did make it back in time to hold him before he died. That was the end of us."

"I don't want this to mark the end of us," she said lowly as the doors opened once more and they stepped out among the cars. "I don't think I could bear to lose you now, on top of this. I would go back to drinking and lose everything."  
Her admission, hesitant though it was, tore his heart to shreds as he stopped them right there and hugged her tightly. She sobbed against his chest and he just rubbed her back, placing soft kisses on her temple as she struggled to get control of her emotions once more. "You won't lose me, babe. We'll get through this together."

"Promise?"

"I promise." He kissed her upturned lips and then led her over to his Escalade, helping her up into the passenger seat. Once they were underway, he turned his head slightly to look at her. "Which hospital is Helena at?"

"St. Vincent's. I guess they have the best pediatric care."

"And that is exactly what she needs." A tremulous smile crossed her face as she nodded. His phone rang and he pulled it out to see Penelope calling him. "What can I do for you, Kitten?"

"Hotch is kinda mad right now. We're supposed to be briefing a new case in ten minutes and you are nowhere to be found."

"Didn't he get my message from Helen?"

"Well, yes, but he is still on the warpath. You all are heading out after the case is briefed, and it's not like Alex is helping any. God, could they have picked a bigger bitch to put on our team?" He chuckled a little, looking over at Erin and knowing she would wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment. "Anyway, he wants you back here."

"I'm sorry, but I have promises to keep."

"And miles to go before you sleep?"

"Something like that, Kitten. Just tell Hotch that sometimes matters of the heart trump the job that we do."

She sighed a little, and he knew she had figured him out. "I love that you are such a closet romantic, Sir. See you Thursday!" She hung up and he stuck the phone back in his pocket.

"Well?"

"She's going to cover for me. And she dislikes Alex as much as you do. You know, if you teamed up with Penelope, you could make that woman's life a living nightmare." A soft laugh poured out of her and he smiled. "That's what I like to hear. Harriet is going to need you to be strong for her, since you're her mother. God knows what kind of support Alan will give her."

She nodded. "I know, David. My god, do I know." They continued on to the hospital and she stared out the window, sniffling lowly as the miles closed between them and her granddaughter.


End file.
